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CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Art Museum’s gift of Japanese prints from Joel and Bernice Weisman has been shortlisted for an Apollo Award, in the category of “Acquisition of the Year” by Apollo, the international art magazine. The museum’s acquisition and the five other nominees are now featured on Apollo Magazine’s website.

Dating back to 1992, the Apollo Awards celebrate major achievements in the art and museum worlds. The winners of the 2017 awards will be announced online on November 21 and in the December issue of the magazine.

The acquisition of the extraordinary collection of 800 rare 17^th–20^th century Japanese prints from the late Joel Weisman and his wife Bernice Weisman was announced at a museum donor event on Jan. 11. The gift is one of the largest permanent collection additions in the museum’s history.

The Weisman acquisition further strengthens the museum’s Japanese holdings and represents a broad spectrum of artists across the history of Japanese printmaking. The collection spans four centuries and includes colorful Edo and Osaka ukiyo-e woodcuts, shin hanga (new prints) and sōsaku hanga (creative prints). Thematically, the prints represent fine examples of bijinga or beautiful women, theatrical prints of actors, literature and legend, landscape, bird prints and surimono (privately printed prints).

Apollo, based out of London, was founded in 1925 and is published monthly. Apollo is one of the world’s oldest and most respected magazines on the visual arts. It covers everything from antiquities to contemporary work, as well as providing in-depth discussion of the latest art news and debates; exclusive interviews with the world’s greatest collectors and artists; expert information on the market, authoritative guidance on collecting, and reviews and previews of exhibitions worldwide.

About the Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as our members.

Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. The museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. with extended Thursday hours until 8 p.m. cincinnatiartmuseum.org

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